Kings Win 4th Straight, Crown Pacers 110-105

There is a good reason as to why Sacramento Kings guard Tyreke Evans was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month; in 17 games, he has scored 20 or more points, so there you go – not bad for a rookie, wouldn’t you say? Nonetheless, Evans and the Kings hosted the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night at Arco Arena; despite being in foul trouble in the fourth quarter, Kings coach Paul Westphal kept him in. The move paid off as Evans scored 26 points, leading Sacramento to the 110-105 win over Indiana.

The first quarter was tightly played as it was nip-and-tuck; Jeff Foster’s tip-in gave the Pacers a 33-30 lead going into the second quarter. Indiana increased their lead to nine at 41-32 on a Danny Granger three-pointer; with 2:32 left in the half, Sacramento regained the lead at 52-50 on a Beno Udrih trey. An Andres Nocioni layup with 22 seconds remaining gave the Kings a 60-57 halftime lead.

Sacramento managed to build a double-digit lead with 7:16 left in the third quarter but Indiana would regain the lead on a Dahntay Jones jumper; the Kings went on a 10-2 run late in the period, capped by a Jason Thompson layup, giving Sacramento a 88-79 lead and would take a 7-point lead into the final quarter. With 7:43 left in the game, Sergio Rodriguez’s layup would give the Kings a 10-point lead but Granger’s three-pointer would narrow Sacramento’s lead to five at 105-100 with 1:13 remaining. Evans’ two free throws with 44 ticks left on the game clock iced the game for the Kings.

Evans led the Kings with 26 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists while Thompson added 22 with 6 rebounds, 2 assists and a block; Spencer Hawes chipped in 21 (including three treys) with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 2 blocks. The Pacers’ high scorer was Granger with 33 points (including 6 treys), a rebound, an assist and a steal while Jones added 16 with 2 rebounds, an assist and a steal; Earl Watson came off the bench to contribute 15 with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals.

Sacramento (9-8) looks to extend their win streak to five when they visit the Phoenix Suns on Saturday while Indiana (6-10) travels east to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz Friday.